


the sun will shine

by iceebreaker2



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Brothers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death Fix, Clones, Fix-It, Gen, Infinity Gems, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Temporary Character Death, heimdall is present for all of 3 seconds sorry heimdall, loki lives, lokis not an idiot dont write him like one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-04-29 10:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14470479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceebreaker2/pseuds/iceebreaker2
Summary: loki had a plan. as he always did.---or the one where loki makes sure he lives through that first battle and i write loki as a competent magic user ft. some adventures with the guardians, tony and his spiderson, and wakanda in a fight for the universe





	1. hey, how you doing? well im doing just fine

**Author's Note:**

> This the first fic ive posted since 7th grade so 6yrs?? i recorded this first bet in a voice memo in my phone and typed it up at 3am after seeing iw-this is mostly to help heal the wounds inflicted on me in the first 10 mins of the movie tbh. enjoy!!!

“We have a Hulk.”

And in the aftermath of that revelation Loki dove quickly to grab Thor. The tesseract, he had dropped it, but he needed to get to Thor, that was his priority here. He snatched his brother out of the way and then dove out of sight. Thor was distracted, Thanos and his Order too and the time to act was Now. 

Loki began to gather seider in his hands. The scene was frantic and he was frantic. His breath was caught in his throat as he continued to pull the magic out of the air. 

Slowly, ever so slowly, green began to dazzle in the air beside him. And.. and…..

A clone appeared. 

Thanos was winning and Hulk was down and Heimdall was- he was transporting Bruce out of there because he was just a human and a bystander. Transporting him out like he had helped Loki do to their people before Thanos had arrived. They didn’t deserve to be sucked into another one of Loki’s issues.

His thoughts were scolding and abrupt. _ Focus, focus. Just fix this!  _

Loki was keenly aware of Heimdall’s ever perceptive gaze on him in the shadows. His final moments spent protecting his princes the best he could by keeping the attention on him. 

Loki worked frantically to make this clone  _ solid, _ to make it a solid _ living _ being, to make it  _ him. _ To put himself into it. And suddenly he was seeing double, he was.. Both of them. Or they were both him. 

Loki felt a something break within him then, like the snapping of a thread. The air left them in pained gasps and they had to clasp each other to keep from collapsing. 

Heimdall was…he was gone. One of the last connections to the magic of Asgard had died in an instant. Thor was yelling, cursing the Titan, and the Lokis struggled to regain composure. Hands shaking, they wiped angry tears from their eyes. It was easy then to muster up the hatred needed to play this part. The echo of Thor’s threat spurred Loki into action.

He sauntered out. Cocky, sure of himself. Attempting to win Thanos’ attention. And he  _ knew _ that this was gonna hurt him. He knew that this was gonna  _ kill _ him. He knew that he needed to give Thor some hope beyond this. So he filled his words with promises unspoken. Odinson and Prince of Asgard and the sun will shine on us again brother. He keeps thinking of the sun.

He pulled magic again, summoning a blade. Just something simple, inconspicuous; something a little stupid. Something to get himself killed. To keep their eyes off Thor. Enough to cause a distraction to keep his brother alive and to keep himself alive. 

He hated himself for swearing to Thanos and giving up to him  _ again.  _ Yet, like before, it was all about endgame for Loki. Luckily  _ this _ endgame allowed him to gather all the hatred and self-loathing and anger he could muster and drive forward toward the titan’s throat. But he knew. He was stopped. 

He was in the air suddenly, he was hanging in the air and instinctual self preservation made him try to pry the fingers from around his neck. He was thrashing, he couldn’t breath and he could feel the bones in his neck creaking with the pressure. 

With black spots forming in his vision he couldn’t help himself but give one last utterance just to hurt Thanos, even a little. To let him know that he would always be a better man than Thanos could ever be. Though he may have followed him once, he would never again. And to make sure Thanos, and Thor, knew he was more sure of this than anything else in his life. 

“You..will never be... a god,” stuttered out as the air left his lungs and his neck snapped. 

A moment of darkness. 

Loki was snapped back into his body after a moment of blinding pain, gasping, clenching onto the pillar concealing him. Tears were bubbling over and he was gasping, just gasping, gasping... breathing. 

He heard Thor scream then, muffled as it was, and he watched with none of the vindictive pleasure he might have once imagined he’d have at seeing his brother mourn for him. He wanted to cry for Thor; he was crying for letting him think this. But he knew that Thanos would leave. Would leave Thor to suffer alone.

Loki was right, he did leave. 

Loki had to watch as Thor grabbed onto his corpse, onto his body laying there, wracked with sobs and awaiting death.

When finally, finally, Thanos was gone, Loki put every bit of energy he had into protecting Thor. Pulled magic around himself and around Thor like a blanket as quickly as he could.  _ Keep him safe keep him safe. _ He could swear Thor had relaxed into the feel of familiar magic surrounding them. 

He whispered frantically to his mother, begging her to keep his brother safe. He pulled the magic out of the dead him, the other him, the body dissolving into green light fractals as he all but ran toward Thor in the last seconds they had. Thor was clutching at the air and sobbing harder, even as he begins to recognize the magic for what it is. And they had seconds, seconds.. 

Thor looks up because he knows his brother. He knows Loki. He _ knows.  _

And the ship explodes with their hands scant inches apart. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again i never post fic and i havent written in a bit but this movie tore me up and i just could not accept that loki wouldnt have a plan like thats just not him lmao. any way please leave a comment or a kudos if this lessened your pain even slightly lmaoo..  
> UPDATE: imma continue this cuz you all rock and really gave me the encouragement i needed! ILY :D


	2. i lied im dying inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wakes up surrounded by morons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup yall,,, it me, back again. Thx so sooo much for all the support it really means alot :'') like 300 kudos?? WILD
> 
> also I made minor edits to the first chap if yall wanna check on em.. nothing major but loki building :)) ENJOY

Loki doesn’t come back into awareness the way Thor did. He doesn’t come back gasping, with his brother’s name on his lips, frantic and scared. Loki comes back slowly, his eyes fluttering open to the feel of a hand on his face. 

He is relieved at his being alive, yet all he can feel is the uncertainty of the being that had awakened him. Can see himself through her mind's eye: skin faded blue, half in and half out, one eye coated lightly red and the other his usual green. He also sees the way her eyes catch on the bruising around his neck, lingering there. His chest tightens uncomfortably at that but pauses when he notices something. He doesn’t feel the soft ping of self loathing he would normally have in this state. Instead he feels... curiosity and sympathy and awe and realizes these feelings aren’t his own at about the same time the being above him realizes he’s reading her back. She removes her hand. They stay with eyes locked for a moment. 

“Brother are you- are you awake?”

It is not in Thor’s nature to be hesitant and that has Loki sitting straight up on the table, the being- _Mantis, _his brain supplies- jumping back with a shocked squeak. Loki glances briefly at the others surrounding him, testing with his magic for ill intentions. Coming up short beyond bewilderment and uncertainty, he returns his attention to his brother. Thor, who approaches him like one might an injured animal, and reaches with tentative fingers to touch. He’s battered and bruised and Loki will _not _let his brother be afraid of him. He grabs the hand suspended outward with both of his own, watching goosebumps run up Thor’s arm, and pulls it to his neck.____

__

__

____

____

Loki tenses for a moment before forcing himself to relax into the familiar touch, the feel of a grip on his neck almost overwhelming him. He wants to be able to appreciate the comfort it had always brought him. He doesn’t want to be afraid of his brother. He also doesn’t want Thor to be afraid of him. Whether that be wariness surrounding his death or fear associated with the heritage now written across his skin, Loki doesn't want this to affect their newly healed relationship. 

Thor tightens his hold for a moment, bringing his other hand to Loki’s cheek, tracing the soft runic patterns there. He keeps his younger brother in this familiar hold, studying him perhaps, until his lips split into a watery smile. 

“The next time you make me watch you die will be your last, brother. Do not do that to me again.” His voice is thick and happy and he’s hugging Loki fully now. 

Loki laughs, delighted at that. “I suppose three times is enough, but you will get no promises from me,” his voice is muffled in Thor’s shoulder, but gravelly like the Frost Giants. He wills his magic to shift him back, and only barely sees the color begin to retreat before returning, soft and wispy on his hands. It’s off putting but not the biggest concern at the moment, so he lets the issue pass. Thor seems to be adjusting so he will too. 

They separate, with Thor keeping a firm hand on his shoulder as if to assure himself that Loki is truly there, and Loki finally gets the chance to fully survey the group. 

“Brother, these are my friends, the Guardians. Here we have the celestial, a Zenhoberei, the only other being I’ve ever met whose muscles can _almost _match mine, the bug who revived you, along with Tree and Rabbit.”__

____

____

Thor said this all with a wide grin, seeming for all the world like he was serious. 

“Come now Thor, don’t be rude,” Loki reprimanded, and the smile dropped off his brother’s face. 

“That’s clearly a squirrel.” This garnered mild protests from the raccoon but Thor’s laughter filled the ship and Loki was happy for it. 

“Oh wow, they’re beautiful and funny? Quill you need to step up your game buddy 'cause the gods… they’re just beating you left and right.” The raccoon pats Quill on the calf before continuing toward the front of the ship, the Groot trailing behind him. Loki’s eyes follow, taking in the length of the ship, the deck above and the large windows adorning the front.

The Zenhoberei, _Gamora _he thinks, the name coming to him out of the blue, speaks then. “Should we scan the rest of the area? If you two survived the I don't see why some others wouldn't have.” She sounds like she's only offering this as a courtesy. Like she knows.__

____

____

Thor perks up a bit at that, “Yes of course, that's a great -” but Loki stops him with a look. “...Are you sure?” 

Thor and Loki had lived as brothers for over 1000 years; they had shared adventures and trouble and loss, all of which was easiest to see in moments like this. Moments where their silence spoke more than their words did. Thor knew that Loki had felt the death of every being aboard their ship, felt their lives cut short, snapping like threads, and Loki hated it. Hated that he could be read so easily. This was to be his to suffer alone. 

Loki watched the absolute shattering heartbreak spread across his brothers features and pulled what little seidr he had available to comfort Thor. They had always been soothed by the feel of their mother’s magic. Anytime they had stumbled up to her with scraped knees or hearts full of pain and eyes full of tears, Frigga had always been willing to listen and share her warmth. She had never been selfish with her touch and comfort, always encouraging her children to be emotional with _her _at the very least. She’d often braided their hair in times of sadness as well but- Thor had a new hairstyle. Loki had taken on these traits whenever he’d needed to comfort Thor.__

____

____

Magic was always the more discreet option anyway, and Thor gave Loki a small smile as the magic washed over him. 

“No we don’t… You don’t have to search the area. Anyone left alive we evacuated before they arrived.” Thor puffs up a bit at this, ever the proud brother, “Loki teleported them to Midgard with the Space Stone.” 

The celestial, Quill, snaps to attention quickly at that. “Midgard? Midgard like Earth? You sent a bunch of alien refugees to Earth?” He looked at them with an astounded sort of horror, “Do you have any idea the kind of panic that would cause?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Loki said, swinging his legs off the table to be seated more appropriately. “They are a bit more used to aliens and strange occurrences than one may believe. My fault, actually.” The brothers share a bit of a smile at that and Loki feels a wave of gratitude wash over him. That they were now comfortably in a place to talk about that whole situation, joke about it even. 

“Well where exactly did you send them?” Gamora asked, leaned up against the side of the ship, arms crossed in front of her. As Thor explained about them selecting the most magical place on Earth in order to hopefully prepare defenses, Loki observed her more carefully. 

She’s defensive in her body language, closing herself off from them. She avoids eye contact and stands close to Quill, seeking reassurance? No; trying to make herself smaller perhaps? This behavior doesn’t make sense to him and he can’t quite put his finger on why. 

The conversation turns to some debate on how to proceed next, and when Thanos’s name comes up he can see the subtle tensing in Gamora’s shoulders. Her ever shrinking posture. 

It takes Loki a few hard moments of observation before he realizes that she’s shying away from _him _. From Loki specifically. He’s hit with a wave of recognition and physically recoils on the table. It a very visceral reaction and she finally, _finally _, locks eyes with him, remorse coloring every part of her being.____

_____ _

_____ _

Loki is thrown back into his memories, the feel of hands clutching at him, pulling him from between the folds of the universe. He is ripped out of the void and into the presence of something far more sinister. All six of Thanos’s children greet him, acting as friends and betrayers and torturers, and among them stands Gamora. 

Thor’s confusion and fear seeps into Loki through the hand on his shoulder. Loki jerks again, and Thor’s hand falls loose while he peers between them quizzically. The others are locked in a debate of who’s in charge, so this moment only passes between the three of them. 

She plays the friend, bringing him food and water after a session with Maw. Treating injuries, talking to him as he lay on the floor. And as much as he knows not trust her, her kindness is a balm. He could pretend she meant it. 

After months or maybe days or maybe years, she steps into his cell with guests. She talking and laughing with Nebula and Maw and when she meets his eyes her expression holds no care for him. She’s strong and the fiercest of them all. Confidence in her cause oozes from every pore and her eyes hold the most absolute look of disgust and loathing for him. 

She stands there as Nebula and Maw go to work. She never breaks eye contact, never flinches at the cracking of his bones, and never offers any of the comfort she once pretended to have. 

It’s not her siblings that finally break him. 

Loki looks at her now, sees the tears in her eyes and nearly throws up. Nausea rushes through him and he has to lean forward and rub the heels of his hands into his eyelids to keep away the flashes of her. Of Him. 

A gentle hand lands on the back of his neck and Loki tries to melt into the touch. Tries to allow his brother to comfort him. Earlier it was easy to push away the images of Thanos, to just rejoice in the presence of Thor and being alive. But his memories are too close now, his most recent encounter with the Titan burning behind his eyes. His breaths are coming quick again, quiet under the chatter in the background. Gamora’s gaze on him does nothing to quell his fear and he’s tensing up, drawing away from the hand, replaying the burst of fear and pain and the sharp snap of his neck-

Thor tenses slightly at the influx of information before he loosens his grip a bit, taking to rubbing soothing circles instead. He makes a point not to draw attention to himself and for that Loki is grateful. Thor does his best to push comfort and safe through their connection before turning back to the conversation. 

“I’ve got it figured out. We’ve got two ships and a large assortment of morons,” says the raccoon. “Groot and I will take the pirate angel and blueberry boy to Nidavellir, and the morons will go to Knowhere to stop Thanos. Cool?” 

“Very cool,” from Thor. “Cool?” That was directed at Loki. 

“Actually I uh-” he had to stop to clear his throat. “I think it may be most beneficial if I went with the morons.” 

Thor’s concern permeates their connection. Loki gives a soft shake of his head.

There was an huff of amused disagreement from the celestial at that. “We do have names you know.” They ran a quick round of introductions following that, Thor beginning with his formal title of ‘Thor, the God of Thunder and King of Asgard’, leading into a round of the _Guardians _trying to one up each other. This gives Loki a bit of time to recover his breathing, curl and uncurl his fingers, count his heartbeats.__

____

____

Once he feels like he’s back on solid ground and not floating through his past, Loki interjects, claiming himself a Prince, a King, a God, a Skywalker, and one of the most powerful sorcerers in all the realms. He's normally one to play his cards close to his chest, so he says it like a warning.

“That’s bullshit, I’m calling bullshit on that last one,” says Quill. They are all moving about the ship, packing a bag for Thor, Rocket, and Groot. Loki stays sat on the table in the center, legs crossed and eyes closed, trying to recuperate his magic- and his composure. Bruises melt back into skin, the weight of them going too. He breathes easier.

“Oh yeah?” Loki cracks an eye open at that. “How do you suppose it took Thanos six years to find me again? And only when I held an infinity stone on my person.” He rolls out his neck, flexes his fingers. “I can do more than you could ever imagine. Might even have a tip or two for the one who claims himself a celestial.” 

Quill tilts his head at that, considering the offer.

“Again? What do you mean by again?” from Drax. 

“Now that,” Loki says, hopping down from the table, “is a story for another time.” He cocks his head, “Sure is an interesting one though, wouldn’t you say?” He grins cruelly at Gamora.

He delights in the way she turns further in, lips curling up as she recedes from the space. But only for a moment. 

Thor comes by one last time, patting his shoulder lightly and Loki offers him a small smile. 

“Bye moron.”

Boisterous laughter rings through the ship. “Bye moron.” Thor gives him a last, meaningful look before departing. Loki can read the 'Don't do anything crazy' packed into it and gives a devilish smirk in return.

They leave. Silence presses in around the remaining crew. 

A beat.

Quill, Drax, and Mantis’ eyes dart between Loki and Gamora before Gamora leaves the room with a heavy sigh. “I’m gonna need a drink for all this.” 

Loki could not agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whys loki going toward thanos ?? the world may never know
> 
> !! hope yall enjoyed cuz i sure did ! anywho ive got a p good idea of where this is going and like,, it’s gonna pop off also i’m off school and my time without wifi is over so this should go mildly faster but i promise nothing. ANYWHO ILY ALL AND DROP ME A COMMENT COMMENTS ARE LIFE


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